Weekly unemployment insurance claims drop

First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Dec. 1 increased from the previous week's total.

The state labor department figures released Friday show the initial claims increased to 4,048 from the previous week's total of 2,705. The department said similar spikes have occurred in weeks immediately following the short Thanksgiving week.

The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 3,179 from the previous week's total of 2,818.

Continued unemployment claims claimed for the week ending Dec. 1 increased to 29,111 compared to 30,273 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 29,939 from the previous week's average of 29,834.